OT: ESPN's Chris Mortensen has Stage IV Throat Cancer

Submitted by translator82 on

ESPN's Chris Mortensen has been diagnosed with stage IV throat cancer and is off the air indefinitely to undergo treatment. Obviously thoughts and prayers to him and his family. Needless to say that cancer sucks: It's affected our family the last few months but, thankfully, the family member's outlook is good. I hope Mortensen can beat it back as well.

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FauxMo

January 15th, 2016 at 6:47 PM ^

Personal Story Forthcoming: My father was diagnosed with stage IV throat cancer 4 years ago. Chemo and radiation did the trick, and he is cancer free. What the doctors forgot to mention was that the treatment kills the salivary glands in most patients. Now, my father is cancer free, but cannot make spit. I know that sounds silly as a side-effect, but without spit you cannot really swallow well. He has not eaten solid food since his cancer. Without solid food, he cannot maintain a decent weight or energy level. Without those, his life is pretty miserable. So this is a very treatable form of cancer, but one that may make Chris Mortensen's life very unpleasant afterwards...

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stephenrjking

January 15th, 2016 at 8:26 PM ^

That's not an uncommon occurrence. There are a lot of cancer survivors who live good lives but with relatively "minor" side effects (minor compared to the larger health risks, not minor to them or someone healthy) that few ever see. For all we speak of sympathy for those who suffer, in many ways we cannot truly understand the constant struggle of such a disease unless we or someone very close endures it.

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MeanJoe07

January 16th, 2016 at 1:59 AM ^

It's okay. They think I'm not being sensitive enough to a serious disease and a real struggle. I can see why they think that. I just think saying fuck cancer is a negative and acknowledges that it can defeat you and it's so horrible. I like Stuart Scott's quote. That's the right mindset in my opinion. I can't say fuck cancer seriously. It's not the same as getting cut off in traffic . . Hey fuck that guy. You know?

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MeanJoe07

January 16th, 2016 at 1:42 AM ^

Shtick? If you notice I don't refer to myself as a koala that often bc I know who I am. Just like you don't refer to yourself as a human. It's implied. As for cancer. I don't like it when people say fuck cancer. I understand the sentiment and they can say what they want but I think it's silly. Cancer cells are part of their body so your kinda saying fuck them in a way. I think we can think of more positive ways to encourage and support people with cancer. Feel free to keep saying fuck cancer. Just in return respect the fact that I think it's a bit silly.

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Benoit Balls

January 15th, 2016 at 6:01 PM ^

tweeted his support and he referred to Mort as a "good man". Some idiot brought up Morts deflategate report that was ultimately proved to be false and questioned Kings use of the phrase " good man" to describe Mort because of it. Lesson? The world is full of a-holes

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Rhino77

January 15th, 2016 at 7:02 PM ^

Seriously, fuck off. Cancer has killed my loved ones, friends, and neighbors. Someone taking a lighter approach too a serious topic does not mean they don't take said topic serious.

And just because Shefter went to UofM does NOT make him enjoyable. Have you heard any of Madonna's recent music?



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I Like Burgers

January 15th, 2016 at 9:31 PM ^

You acted like an asshole by telling someone to fuck off for questioning your response/tact and then hid that behavior under the umbrella of things that happened to loved ones. Which is also an asshole thing to do.

So I called you an asshole for displaying asshole tendencies. Clear enough explanation?



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aratman

January 15th, 2016 at 7:13 PM ^

My mom has had cancer on 3 different times and we just found out last week that she has it again.  She was stage 4 twice and she has been in hospice twice.  It has been 20 years since last time, and she is 80 so it has been a good run for her.  I think that the best you can hope for is a good life no matter how long you have to live.

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stephenrjking

January 15th, 2016 at 8:31 PM ^

I'm very sorry to hear about your mom. Even if she has lived a full life such news is not easy. FWIW stage 4 is the highest stage but it means different things for different cancers. Not all of them work the same way. There's a man in our church with a stage 4 cancer (bile duct maybe?) that he is expected to recover fully from. The main thing stage 4 means in his case is "inoperable." But not untreatable. The actual spread is minor. No idea what it means for Mort, and yes, I've lost my Dad to cancer, I've been through stage 4 in that fashion.

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lilwolve4

January 15th, 2016 at 6:20 PM ^

Third year medical student here. Stage IV would represent a distant metastasis (spread of other part of the body) of the disease. Generally at this point clinical goals are not curative and merely to control it as long as possible. Once it spreads somewhere you will likely always have some cancer cells in your body. However, depending on the specific types of cancer and the grade of the cancer (essentially how aggressive it is) it can alter the prognosis. It could be months or it could be several, several years. Some can be controlled. Others not as much.



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mgoblueben

January 15th, 2016 at 6:23 PM ^

Two big players in esophageal cancer are squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma (Barrett's Esophagus). Without knowing what he has or any details, typically has a poor prognosis depending on invasion of mucosal layers. Around 15% survival at 5 years. With stage IV, prognosis is rather poorer. Squamous cell is more environmental: smoking, alcohol, hot beverages. Adenocarcinoma is from chronic GERD/reflux.

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